Stop the World I Want to Get Off! Pandemic Day 122 - Celebration Cookies

Day 122

33% of the year 2020

Wow.  Who would have thought that the movie, Groundhog Day, would become the reality?  

The routine here has been somewhat repetitive, to say the least.  In March and April it was on the chilly side.  There was a lot of comfort food but no posts.  There were new cookie recipes but no posts.  There was bread but no posts.  You get the idea.  I didn't write any posts.

I did do some writing in March and April.  It was all genealogy related.  In fact, I started a genealogy blog and there are posts, but only the few stories that I had thought about for a long time and had a need to tell. 

In May I moved to quilting.  Like most quilters, I have bins filled with fabric.  It was calling to me, so the goal became using up the fabric I had accumulated.  If you quilt, you know that that is nothing but funny.  One can never use up all of the fabric accumulated!  As of today, I have put together four quilt tops.  I am pretty tickled to have been able to accomplish that much.  As for the goal, the bins still have fabric waiting to become something.  There will always be bins.

Why do I want the world to stop so I can get off?  Well, there have been too many cookies.  Cookies are eaten.  Cookies become a habit, they are satisfying, they are comforting.  I ate too many.  I did share some of the cookies with the neighbors, but I don't think I shared enough.

I tried out two new cookbooks, Dorie's Cookies by Dorie Greenspan and Martha Stewart's Cookie Perfection.  I loved both cookbooks.  They each had their own twists on some favorites.

The first recipe that I tried was from Martha's book.  The recipe is written for four large cookies. These would be perfect for a birthday, anniversary or another important occasion or your everyday pandemic. 

The cream cheese and brown sugar gave them a great flavor.  While I adapted and made about twenty cookies, we ate so many in one sitting I might as well have made the four large ones!

Pandemic Celebration Cookies!

(aka Oxymoron Cookies)

Plan ahead:  The dough must be refrigerated for two hours or up to three days prior to baking.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 kosher salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream frosting

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.

Using a mixer beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla beating until combined.  Gradually add the four mixture until combined.  Shape the dough into a disk about an inch thick, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate a minimum of two hours or up to three days.

Preheat oven: 350° F.

If you prefer large cookies:  Divide the dough into four rounds. Roll to a thickness of 1/2 inch.  Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet leaving 2 inches between the cookies.  

If you prefer 3 inch cookies:  Roll the dough and cut out with a cookie cutter.  Rerolling and scraps and cutting, as needed.

Larger cookies are baked 15-18 minutes.

Smaller cookies are baked about 10 to 12 minutes.

Bake until puffed and set but still soft when gently pressed in the center.

Transfer cookies to racks to cool.

Using a small spatula frost the cookies with buttercream and sprinkle with nonpareils or with colorful turbinado sugar.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

There you have it....the beginning of my cookie downfall....

My dad always told me "you do what you have to do and you don't complain about it."  I wonder what he would have to say about the world today.  I am not complaining...instead, I am eating cookies.